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Talk:Mercenaries
"...already had they spent well-nigh all that they had, both in the sojourn that they had made there and in the great payments that they had made for the fleet. And they said that they could in no wise go thither; and if they should go thither, they would accomplish nothing there, for they had neither victuals nor substance wherewith to sustain themselves." — Robert de Clery, On the Conquest of Constantinople, Ch 16 Mercenary units are special units that are usually dominated by several traits: *Mercenaries generally have a high cost in wealth. A player with a wealth cap bonus may take advantage of this as the complexity required to raise a mercenary army is not that great. *Mercenary units are are generally weaker than normal units - they appear as single units, and will have the following stats: 50% less armour and health, but a training speed three times as fast as the original unit. *Some mercenaries in fact are more powerful, and can sometimes be recruited as mainstream units by other factions. The hashishin is a unique unit trainable in the Castle Age by Muslim factions, but does not become available for selected factions well until the Imperial Era *Mercenaries need two sets of technologies: Mercenaries (Military Level 2) from your Library to access the outpost, the main building from which they are created; and two different tiers of Commerce research. Dark Age mercenaries are immediately available once the outpost is set up, but more advanced ones require Commerce Levels 3 (Castle Age) and 5 (Imperial Era). In Rise of Kings, mercenaries are often based on ethnic minorities that were often subjugated by the major factions, such as the Basques and the Irish, although some other factions, such as Genoa, can also appear as well. Mercenaries are popular for several reasons: *The first is the fact that they do not always require the complexity required in creating high-level units. For instance, to create an arbalest, one has to research Centralisation before any upgrading of crossbowmen can be allowed, but for mercenaries, only an appropriate Age and Commerce level would normally suffice. A nation with sufficient wealth can easily bypass this by salarying brigands or Genoese crossbowmen to take their place. *The second is their training speed. Although mercenaries generally suffer a -50% endurance penalty and are costly, they can sometimes be created in times of need by economic-minded nations with vast amounts of wealth. The ability to summon mercenaries at need to fight can sometimes make a difference between having a merely damaged town and losing it completely to the foe. *Lastly, mercenaries can function as an internal "police force": if an enemy spy is spotted, a mercenary can be recruited immediately to deal with the offending threat. Dark Age mercenaries (Note: these are arranged in terms of cost) Zanji warrior Weaker than other heavy infantry, but is resistant to attrition and trains faster) Camel archer An even weaker version than the Bedouin archer (has a 50% resistance penalty, but trains 200% faster), but still can outrange jinetes, mounted skirmishers and other cavalry archer units within this age. Camel archers can resist attrition. Basque warriors Faster to train and run than normal shield bearers, but dangerous nonetheless. Clad in simple leather armour like ghazis. Has a 50% resistance penalty, but trains 200% faster. Kerne Is weaker than its cousin the ceithernn, but is faster trained. Daylamid skirmisher Hits harder than the kerne, but has less hitpoints and the ability to resist attrition. Kipchak horse archer A weaker cavalry archer, far cheaper than a camel archer but still lethal in huge numbers. Has a 50% resistance penalty, but trains 200% faster. Brigand Same range as the helwr, but is much weaker even though it trains faster, and yet retains the same amount of damage and rate of fire) Galloglaich heavy infantry Adept at cutting apart cavalry with a two-handed sword, but is much weaker than Scottish Cliarthaire: has a 50% resistance penalty, but trains 200% faster. Castle Age mercenaries Commerce level 3 (Linguistics) is required in order to access Castle Age mercenaries. Iranian heavy cavalry These troops may pose a striking resemblance in stats and appearance to the Muslim lancer unit, but in fact cost only wealth, and are trained faster than normal heavy cavalry. Almogavars Fierce mountain men from the heart of Spain, armed with javelins. Fairly mediocre against infantry, but performs well against cavalry - a complete copy of the Basque Warrior, only with different weapons. Breton horse Rapid-moving 1 light horse unit whose specialty is javelin throwing. Has a 50% resistance penalty, but trains 200% faster. Balt spearmen A copy of Denmark's own Dark Age axeman, but armed with a spear. Has a 50% resistance penalty, but trains 200% faster. Norman Adventurer Petty noble cavalry from France. Caucasus Mountain Men Hardy warriors, all armed with an axe - as strong as the Slavic Axemen, but cost tonnes of wealth. Imperial Era mercenaries Imperial Era mercenaries require Commerce level 5 (Guilds) in order to be created. Yangombi impi not very powerful, but is fast on foot in your territory, and is resistant to attrition) Reisläufer Curiously clothed halberdiers: they have the same clothing of the Landsknecht units but bear halberds instead. Gasmoulikon exact copy of the Rizico, only available in III and with an added wealth ramp cost) Hashishin An exact replica of the Muslim fedayeen, but only available in the Imperial Era to non-Europeans, for a very high wealth cost. Russia, Venice and Mongolia are all notorious for being capable of recruiting these hired killers to do their bidding. Atl-atl not very powerful, but is a fast, hard-hitting mercenary. Atl-atls have a higher rate of fire than most. Balkan stradiot Completely similar in appearance and stats as the Iberian 2 jinetes, these men are known for riding and raiding, but will die easily if swarmed by lighter medium cavalry. Genoese crossbow equal to 2 Orsini Assassins, but with a higher cost in wealth and faster training speed. Freelancer (Equivalent to a normal knight, but with a high wealth cost yet faster train time) Bee's Nest Devastating rocket-launching barrow. Battle wagon another version of the War Wagon. Except it is trainable only in III, with a higher wealth cost to match) Magyar artillerist faster to recruit than Orban's cannon, but is slower and fires less frequently. The Artillerist can only be healed if near a holy chapter or a German supply wagon) Gajnal mahout retails all features of the culverin mahout, but is still easy prey to archers, marksmen and especially siege weapons. Is powerful and has no other special ramp cost requirements) Cossacks Based off Iberlian skirmishers.